Dating & Deceit
by VeVe2491
Summary: Ally likes Austin, but he's completely clueless to her feelings. With the help of Dez she devises a plan to get him to really show his true feelings. However, the plan backfires when Ally forgets to figure in her best friend, Trish. (Set during/after season 1 but before season 2)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys :) It's been a while since I've actually published anything, and I know I really should be updating Bad Boys & Bad Behaviour but the idea for this story has been plaguing me for a week and I really wanted to just get it out. Originally it was supposed to be a oneshot but then it started to get longer and longer and I realised that there was a lot I could do with it so really it should be a multi-chap. I really hope you guys like it and any reviews, follows or favourites would be greatly appreciated :) If this chapter goes down well then I'll upload the next chapter tomorrow, because I'm literally blazing ahead with this story and I've got a week off this week so I can dedicate all my time to Fanfiction because I have no life... #yolo **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter One**

Ally's day had been fairly quiet. Sonic Boom had been pretty empty for most of the day, with only a few customers every once in a while and frankly Ally was happy to have the peace and quiet for it meant she could finally get around to working on the new song she'd promised Austin.

Unfortunately for Ally, her quiet was short lived for it wasn't long before two of her best friends bounded through the door disturbing the peace.

"Hey Ally," Austin waved as he walked in with Dez at his side.

Though Ally had been looking forward to having some time to herself she was always happy to see her friends, especially Austin. She was reluctant to admit it to anyone but her journal but Ally might have developed somewhat of a crush on resident rock-star Austin Moon. It hadn't been intentional but after spending countless nights consumed with the music and each other, alone in the practice room above Sonic Boom it had been inevitable. There was just something so intoxicating about Austin that she just couldn't help herself.

Of course, when they weren't together writing a song it was pretty hard for Ally to catch any time alone with Austin. If Austin wasn't with Dez then Ally was always with Trish. Though as much as it sometimes irritated Ally that she couldn't spend more alone time with Austin, she had slowly begun to appreciate this little fact. For one thing it meant that Austin still had no idea that she was crushing on him - since Ally couldn't get him alone she was often able to push her feelings aside and act like a totally normal human being, unlike with Dallas who had suffered through a multitude of her 'quirky' idiocies. On top of that since Dez was constantly around him Austin often had difficulty attracting girls - Dez, like Ally, was also quite quirky and most people didn't really understand him in the way his friends did. This sometimes meant that Dez unintentionally pushed people away through his mannerisms, which was the opposite effect of what Austin needed if he were to score dates anytime soon.

Finally, the main reason Ally wasn't too bothered by her limited alone time with Austin was that she genuinely enjoyed hanging around with Austin, Dez and Trish as a group. In the few months since they had all become close Ally had really begun to appreciate their company as well as learning to have more fun because of it.

However, that being said, just because Ally didn't mind that she was unable to get her music partner alone long enough to deduce how he felt about her because of their friends, it didn't mean that Ally wasn't totally bothered by Austin branching out from the group and going on dates. Which is exactly what he had done, with Dez's help too!

"What?" Ally managed to stutter out, her mind in complete shock. Austin had been with Dez all day, she knew that for a fact, after all her phone notified her after each of his hourly Tweeter updates. Austin may have been a complete girl magnet but Dez, no offence to the guy, was a girl replant who overpowered Austin every single time. There was no way this could have happened.

"Yeah, isn't it great," Austin grinned, his face lighting up like the fourth of July. Unlike Ally, he was obviously pleased to have finally scored a date with a girl after several weeks of flying solo. "Dez and I were hanging out at the food court and when I saw her I just knew, you know?"

Ally couldn't believe he was asking her this. Of course she knew! She was reminded of that feeling of complete and utter bliss and want every time she saw him. Even when he strolled up to her in the school hallways immediately after gym class and he smelt worse than the month old tuna sub Dez had abandoned in the Tuba last week, she still had that feeling.

"Yeah," She mumbled, her eyes no longer focusing on Austin despite how angelic she thought he looked in that moment as the sun caught his hair lighting it up like a halo. Swallowing Ally eventually managed to ask the question that had been bothering her since he'd brought it up. "What's her name?"

"Oh, you know her," Dez said, answering the question for Austin who's chocolate eyes had clouded over dreamily. "It's Rachel, the girl that works at Amazing Glaze, remember? We went there last week, you said the donuts were awesome -"

Though Dez looked like he was going to continue talking about how wonderful Rachel and her donuts were Ally cut him off. "I remember," Ally said through gritted teeth.

It wasn't like she could forget the girl either. Ally only knew Rachel because Amazing Glaze happened to be one of the various stores her dad, Lester, liked to frequent before they opened up the store each morning. Though Ally was completely against eating a donut every day after breakfast, she hadn't minded joining her dad on his ventures just after sunrise. In fact, that was how she had first come to know Rachel. The pair had bonded over the fact that they both worked long hours and for their dad's.

What was irritating about the situation, aside from Austin potentially getting a new girlfriend, was that Ally couldn't even hate her. If their early morning talks had taught Ally anything it was that Rachel was a kind-hearted, smart girl who just happened to be exceedingly beautiful too. How could Ally live up to that?

There was a moment of silence in which Ally stood silently fuming over Austin's newfound love life, Austin stared dreamily off into space and Dez began fumbling with his camera. Luckily for Ally the suffocating silence was soon broken by the obnoxious sound of Austin's cell phone ringing in his pocket.

The phone call didn't last long but it was easy to get the gist of it, even if you didn't have the phone attached to your ear like Austin did. Austin had done something wrong and as a punishment his mom wanted him working the lunch shift over at the family's business, Moon's Mattress Kingdom; something Austin begrudged doing. With a quick goodbye and the dreamy look wiped off of his face, having been replaced by a sour frown, Austin hurried out of the music store and presumably to meet his mom in the parking lot, leaving Ally and Dez standing alone.

Not wanting Dez to know she was upset, Ally mumbled a lame excuse about having to do inventory before disappearing upstairs into the practice room. She had not expected Dez to follow her.

* * *

The practice room looked the same way it always did. Colourful and untidy, but that was the way Team Austin liked it, with the exception of Ally who was a bit of a clean freak to say that least. Today there was something off about the room, or so Dez felt there was. It might have been that the poster Austin had bought the week before was hanging crookedly off the wall or it might have been the sniffling brunette hunched over the piano furiously playing a tune Dez didn't recognise. He couldn't decide which it was that was off balance, so naturally Dez decided to fix both.

Once he had corrected the wonky wall hanging Dez moved on to Ally, who had apparently taken no notice of his arrival for she had not stopped playing piano nor had she opened her eyes since he had arrived.

"Ally?" Dez's voice cracked unexpectedly as he spoke. He felt as though he had been silent for an eternity, an uncomfortable eternity in which he had been forced to watch someone kick puppies. It was painful to see Ally this sad.

Ally's song came to an abrupt and painful end as she looked up to see the Austin's redheaded sidekick towering over her. "Dez?" Her usually bright eyes were red rimmed and it didn't take a genius took work out why.

"I'm sorry, "Dez said quickly. He hadn't intended for his words to come out rushed but he wasn't the best in these kinds of situations, usually preferring to keeps things happy and upbeat. Dez placed his camcorder on top of the piano and took the space on the piano bench usually reserved for Austin.

"What for?" Ally asked, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion, causing them to appear bushier than they actually were. "You didn't do anything."

"Yeah, I did two things!" Dez threw his hands up in the air annoyed with himself for having upset Ally. "I left another tuna sub in the tuba again, and I didn't stop Austin from hitting on that girl."

Ally sniffled again. "Firstly ew," thankfully this was followed by a small laugh, informing Dez that she was not angry at him for his casual misplacement of food in the store. "And secondly, why would you think I care about that? I'm - um, I'm... just hormonal. Yeah, that's all. I'm just hormonal."

Dez shuddered obviously at his friend's use of the word 'hormonal'. Yes, he read his mom's 'female magazines', so he was slightly more comfortable than most guys with such subjects, but that still didn't make him feel any less at ease or any less disgusted when he heard them out loud. Once he was done with his amateur dramatics Dez placed what he hoped to be a comforting hand on Ally's shoulder.

"You don't have to lie to me Ally. I'm the Love Whisperer, I know when two people like each other."

Ally scoffed, attempting to act nonchalant but failing completely. "Fine, I like Austin and I'm upset that he's going on a date with another girl. Especially Rachel."

Dez nodded, not bothering to question why Ally was so irritated by Austin's choice in date because it was obvious even to Dez why. "Why didn't you just ask Austin out yourself?"

"Because he doesn't like me," It was clear that Ally was frustrated as she threw her hands to the ceiling mimicking Dez's earlier actions before bringing her hands down heavily to the ivory keys in front of her. The sound she created was painful to Dez's ears but he paid it very little attention for the cogs of his brain were working overtime as a plan formed in his head.

Too quickly for Ally's liking, Dez rose to his feet almost knocking the girl beside him to the ground. "Ally, will you go on a date with me?" He asked loudly, his grin was broad like the Cheshire cats and his blue eyes were glittering like diamonds; Ally would have thought it to be adorable to see him so excited about something if that something hadn't been asking her out.

"Um, Dez I'm flattered but I just -" Ally didn't get to finish her sentence for Dez cut her off by pulling her to her feet all the while shaking his head violently, causing strands of orange hair to fly comically in various directions.

"No, not like that," Dez grabbed his camera from the top of the piano before flailing wildly around the room like a kite that had been caught by the wind. "I've gotta make a movie for AV club, right?"

"Right..." Judging by the confused look etched upon Ally's face she wasn't understanding where Dez was headed.

"Well, I could make it about the first date of a guy and a girl. It wouldn't be real, obviously but we could pretend like it is to see how Austin reacts. That way you'll know if he likes you or not and then if he gets jealous you can ask him out afterwards," Dez explained, as he fiddled with the settings on his camera.

"Dez that's brilliant! I could kiss you!" Ally squealed happily, unaware that Dez had pressed record already. "But wait, how will we handle my stage fright? I can't be on camera, what if I make a fool of myself? What if I ruin your entire movie? What if -"

"Ally, I'm sure you'll do just fine," Dez smirked before showing her the footage he had recorded moments ago.

The petite brunette gaped at the short video in front of her. "I can't believe it, how did you -"

"I'm a director Ally, it's what I do," Dez flicked his head in a fashion similar to the way he had seen guys like Austin and Dallas do, and for a brief moment he wondered if he had managed to do it as well as they did. Maybe if he had then girls might notice him more, specifically - but the thought was unimportant. He needed to help Ally.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys :) I hope you're all enjoying the story so far. Thank you for reading and a massive thank you to those of you have reviewed, favourited and/or followed. I hope you all had an awesome day and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Ally wasn't sure this plan was going to work. Yes, she had spent the entire afternoon meticulously planning each and every detail of what she and Dez were going to do but hadn't made her feel anymore assured. Dez, on the other hand, seemed fine and Ally wasn't sure whether she should feel displeased or relieved by this.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" She quizzed for what might have been the one hundredth time that evening, she'd lost count.

"Yes," Dez nodded. Most people would have been annoyed by her constant worrying, Dez however didn't appear to care or if he did he didn't show it.

"Okay," Ally exhaled heavily and wrapped her arms around her small frame. It was getting cold out as the sun began to set and Ally couldn't wait to get to Trish's house so she could warm up again.

Due to Austin's date the previous evening, Team Austin had been forced to reschedule their usual movie night to the following day. It was yet another reason why Ally felt so irked by Austin's quest to find love. That and he'd barely even acknowledged her as a candidate.

In order to arouse suspicion in Austin, Ally and Dez had decided to arrive at Trish's house together. That way it would look like the pair had been spending extra time together alone. Ally had even gone to such lengths as to make a post about it on Tweeter; Dez had reposted it in order to ensure a bigger chance of Austin seeing it.

As always when Ally walked to her best friend's house she couldn't help but stand in awe at the large home in front of her. Ally's house wasn't exactly small but when compared to Trish's it made her feel as though she had been living in a shoebox her entire life. Even the sound of the doorbell made the De La Rose residence that much more exquisite. It wasn't a long wait for Trish to answer the door, though Ally did have enough time to admire the rose bushes that outlined the perimeter of the front lawn.

Trish wasn't alone when she answered the door, Austin was beside her bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet like an overexcited puppy.

"Dez!" Austin grinned pleased to see his best friend for the first time in two days.

As part of the plan Ally and Dez had to keep a certain distance from their best friend's in order to create an 'air of suspicion' as Ally had called it. If they were both constantly hanging out with Trish and Austin then it would look weird for them to suddenly decide to date, even if it was fake. They had to pretend to spend time together so that when they did 'date' it would appear as though it was a long time coming. Ally was not going to let this thing fall apart, she had to know how Austin felt. If he got jealous then she'd ask him out. If he didn't care then, as much as it was going to hurt, she'd just have to move on.

"Where have you been all day buddy? I tried to call you but your cell phone was off," Austin asked, a slightly confused expression was beginning to take over his happier features now. It was obvious to Ally that Austin had felt lonely in his friend's two day absence.

Most surprisingly however was Trish's reaction. Similar to that of Austin's Trish's face was also a mix of confusion and something Ally couldn't quite pinpoint. "Yeah Alls, I tried calling you but it kept going to voicemail."

Ally waited for Dez to take the lead; she knew that if Dez could follow through with their plan she could too.

Dez turned his head to the ground and for a moment Ally thought he was going to choke under the pressure and reveal their plan to their friend's. Thankfully, a second later Dez's face was turned to Ally and his lips had crept into a small smile.

"Oh I was just busy, that's all," He turned away quickly and Ally had to stop herself from high fiving him right there in front of Austin and Trish. "Ally wanted to hang out today, I guess my phone died and I didn't notice."

"You two hung out today?" Austin asked, his face scrunching up in further confusion.

"Without us?" Trish added, equally as confused as Austin though Ally could have sworn there was a hint of something else in her voice. Anger, maybe?

Ally shrugged, it was her turn to take centre stage. "Yeah, I figured you two would be too busy to hang out."

Trish seemed taken aback by this though she couldn't argue with Ally. After all Trish had been working, though a more accurate description would have been sleeping, at 'Thai Me Up', the thai restaurant that had opened up last week in mall food court.

Austin, on the other hand, could argue back. "Ally, I texted you asking if you wanted to work on a new song together. I had a really great idea for a song and -"

"You did?" Ally's voice was hopeful and she couldn't help the oddly pleasant feeling of her heart soaring upwards in her chest. It wasn't until Dez elbowed her subtly in the ribs did she come back down to Earth and remember their plan. "I mean - it's kinda cold out here. Can we head up stairs?"

Even upstairs Austin hadn't dropped the subject, he was still rambling on about the awesome song idea he'd had and how he wanted to know why he hadn't been invited to hang out.

"Why are you so bothered by it?" Dez asked, finally managing to catch Austin off guard and shut him up.

Dez's blue eyes caught Ally's brown ones and they knew this was it. Ally couldn't help but smile a little to herself. Obviously Austin was jealous that Dez and Ally were hanging out alone, and he didn't like it because he wanted Ally all to himself. Ally's mind had already run away with her imagination and was thinking of where she and Austin could go on their first date when she heard him speak.

"Because I was stuck inside by myself all day," Austin grumbled. "When I could have been working on a totally awesome new song for my appearance on KBBL Live, next Saturday."

At this Ally felt herself fill with an emotion she was not too familiar with. Fury. How dare he assume that she would just drop everything to write a song for him! What about her needs? They were all supposed to have a movie night the previous day but they couldn't because of Austin and his dumb date, did he see them complaining? No!

Dez, who had apparently observed Ally's nostrils flaring angrily at Austin's comment, attempted to subtly remind Ally of their plan. Hopefully that would prevent her from murdering the oblivious blond who had thrown himself down belly first onto Trish's ridiculously oversized bed.

"Well you and Ally can work on it tomorrow or - oh, no you can't. Um, maybe you can work on it together the day after that?" Dez offered, hoping to catch Ally's eye, though judging by the daggers she was glaring at Austin that seemed more and more unlikely by the second.

"Why can't we work on the song tomorrow?" Austin asked, sounding slightly affronted. He had rolled over onto his back now his brown eyes locking with Ally's darker ones.

Ally's face softened as she looked at Austin, and for a moment she forgot exactly why she was angry at him, allowing herself to complete immerse herself in the beauty that was Austin's face. It was like a Greek God and an Angel had gotten together and Austin Moon had been the result; only not quite because Ally had met Austin's parents and neither of them were on the same scale of attractive as Greek Gods, Angels or even their son.

"Ally?" Dez's voice broke through the imagery running through Ally's mind.

The interruption allowed Ally's anger to return and she found herself remembering the plan once more. "Because Dez and I are hanging out again tomorrow."

"Again?!" Trish spoke for the first time in what felt like a while. Since the moment downstairs she hadn't said a lot. From the expression on her face she had been caught up in her own web of thoughts, and Ally had made a mental note to ask her about them later when she wasn't so preoccupied with Austin.

Ally hoped Trish wouldn't be too mad when she eventually told her of the diabolical plan she had produced with Dez. She had wanted to tell Trish straight away but after a heated debate with Dez, Ally had been forbidden from spilling their dirty little secret. Ally couldn't understand why Dez did not want Trish to know, but he seemed to desperate that she couldn't help but cave to his pressure.

"Yeah, what's so wrong with that?" Dez questioned. All the while Ally watched his face, noting how he seemed to be looking at the Latina opposite him more intensely than she had ever expected of the usually over the top redhead.

"You didn't ask Austin or I to join you," Trish said, waving her arms furiously. Her brown eyes were wide with exasperation and it was obvious to Ally, who had known Trish the longest, that she was slowly getting more and more frustrated with the situation at hand. "You didn't ask us yesterday, you didn't ask us today, and you made plans for tomorrow, WITHOUT US! WHY?!"

Austin, though visibly not as upset as Trish, folded his arms over his chest and nodded in agreement. Like with Trish, Ally knew his tells too. Upon watching his tongue flick out to lick his lips she knew her partner was feeling anxious; and Ally couldn't help but grin evilly in response. After his comment in which he had basically said she should drop everything at a moment's notice to help him with his career but he was exempt from the rules, Ally had wanted revenge. So perhaps dangling her newfound friendship with Dez in his face was exactly what her revenge could entail.

Dez ran his hands through his hair and sighed heavily, causing Ally to wonder just how much time Dez spent watching TV because he was doing well in acting as though this whole thing between him and Ally was serious. Though just one glance at those sky blue eyes of his told her Dez was pretending, she knew better than to worry that he might have feelings for her. They were agreed on that they were like siblings to each other; even the prospect of one liking the other was enough to make Ally grimace.

"I wasn't going to do this now, but I guess I have to."

Ally heart leapt into her throat, creating a frog sized lump there as she began to panic. Silently, she prayed that Dez was not about to reveal their plan to their friend's. In the current tension that consumed the room she didn't feel that it was wise. Especially when she glanced at Trish, who if she were to become any angrier might have begun smoking at the ears.

Dez, after some time, turned his gaze back to his friends and it was then that Ally knew what he was doing; ahead of schedule might she add, though she supposed there was no other way around this now. It had to be done.

"I know it might come as a surprise to you, it came as a surprise to me," Dez said, his lips quirking upwards in an odd kind of smile. To Trish and Austin it would appear to be an odd smile, though to Ally she recognised it as Dez trying not laugh as he began quoting one of the many movies they had watched earlier that day in preparation for their roles in two halves of 'Delly' the name by which Dez had dubbed their 'relationship'.

"To begin with these thoughts made a uncomfortable but over time I guess I just had to accept them," Ally tried hard not to allow her jaw to drop as she recognised the words Dez was saying. They weren't from a movie, they were the words she had used when confiding in Dez about her crush on Austin. "I know that maybe you guys aren't going to be happy that I kept such a secret from you, especially you Austin."

The boy in question allowed his face to fall into a blend of confusion and hurt. Confusion because he still wasn't entirely sure what Dez was trying to say and hurt because he couldn't believe Dez, of all people, would keep a secret from him.

"I guess I might as well say it. Ally," Dez turned to Ally, his blue eyes locking on to her brown ones. Both of them fighting the urge to give up on the whole facade and just face up to the consequences. The urge to burst into laughter at their own 'acting' was becoming stronger and stronger by the second as Ally fought valiantly to keep her lips from tugging themselves into an amused grin.

"I like you," Dez breathed, though Ally felt certain his gaze was no longer on her but on the wall behind her. "A lot, and I have for a while. I know that maybe sometimes we don't see eye to eye and that I get on your nerves, but that's just part of what makes me like you more. I don't have that with other girls, they just think I'm weird and they run away but with you it's different. With you I feel like I can be me and although you might make fun of me for it, it doesn't matter because I know you accept me. We may not spend a lot of time together alone but when we do it's the best thing in the world to me. Heck! It's better than the Zaliens movies, and if you wanted me to give them all up for you I would because that's how much I like you Tr-Ally."

Ally's eyes widened to the size of plates at Dez's slip up and she hoped with all her heart that neither Trish nor Austin had picked up on it. Sure, she'd had her suspicions but she'd hadn't expect Dez to feel so strongly about her best friend. It was sweet though, Ally thought. It was nice to know that someone who wasn't a jerk - if you looked up the opposite of 'jerk' in the dictionary Dez's name would certainly be there - liked her best friend. Ally would even go as far as to say loved, but she didn't want to confuse Dez more than he probably already was by the emotions he felt so strongly.

Ally gave a quick glance towards Austin and Trish before she began her readily rehearsed lines. Trish who had previously looked as though she were about to explode with rage was now looking both shocked and maybe a little bit hurt. Ally grinned inwardly at this, perhaps once Dez had helped her work out Austin's feelings for her, he would be able to ask Trish out. Ally hoped so, her friend's deserved happiness. Austin too looked shocked, maybe more so than Trish. His eyebrows were furrowed together in a tight knot as he tried to make sense of the scene unfolding in front of him, they seemed to get closer together as he became more confused. Ally couldn't blame him, she'd be just as confused in his situation because it really was unexpected. Much to her displeasure however, Ally was unable to found an ounce of jealousy, hurt or annoyance in any of Austin's facial features, the confusion had taken over every available outlet.

"Dez," Ally attempted to choke up slightly in an attempt to seem as though all her dreams had come true. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Say yes," Dez took her small hand in his larger one and he gave her a watery smile. Ally could have applauded his brilliant acting techniques had she not been so focused on ensuring Austin and Trish believed every ounce of the show they were putting on.

"To what?"

"To going out with me? Ally Dawson, will you be my girlfriend?" Dez swooped down onto one knee, and Ally nearly snorted at the cheesiness as she mentally pinpointed each movie he was stealing things from.

"Yes!" Ally yelled in what she hoped sounded like excitement; she couldn't tell, she'd never been the best in drama class. Finally, the crème de la crème of the piece had been an idea she and Dez had conceived after the fifth movie they had watched together. Ally threw her arms around Dez's neck and he lifted her into the air, twirling them around until they were both giddy with laughter. Actual laughter. The laughter which they had held back during the whole charade.

They both would have kept laughing hysterically for quite some time had they not been stopped by Trish clearing her throat to attract attention. Ally couldn't help but shift uncomfortably at the smile on plastered on Trish's face. It wasn't one she recognised.

"That's great you guys, I'm really happy for you!" Trish moved across the room to Ally before giving her best friend a hug which in Ally's personally opinion felt more like a the type of death squeeze a viper grave its prey. "And, I suppose if we're all sharing here. I have something I'd like to say too."

"Sure Trish, go ahead," Ally encouraged, hoping that Trish would suddenly explode in a rage and announce her feelings for Dez. Then she and Dez could drop their act, Dez could marry Trish and Ally would just have to hope that if Austin really didn't like her then the rejection wouldn't hurt too much.

What happened next Ally couldn't have predicted even if she was Sherlock Holmes himself. The news took them all by surprise. Austin who had previously been paralysed with confusion had apparently lost control of his jaw which had dropped so low Ally wondered if it had become unhinged. Dez's legs had given out and he had fallen unceremoniously to the floor. And Ally, well she had frozen - she was completely and utterly stuck, unable to move no matter how desperately the voice in her head commanded her to.

And all of this was done with three little words. Three simple little words.

"I like Austin."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys :) Hope you're all good and have had a pleasant day. Thanks to all of you readers, reviewers, followers and or favouritors (that's not a word but oh well) it genuinely means a lot to me. So here's the next chapter and I hope none of you hate me by the end of it... **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

There was nothing Ally could do other than stare at her supposed best friend in utter disbelief. No matter how hard she tried she could not come to terms with the idea that Trish could possibly have a crush on Austin. It just didn't seem right. All the signs indicated that Trish had a crush on Dez, not Austin. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Ally liked Austin and Trish was supposed to like Dez.

Dez, apparently could not deal with Trish's news either for one moment he had been standing right next to Ally, shoulders brushing and hands barely touching in order to create the illusion of a happy couple in love, and the next he had tumbled to the ground. His body was in a crumpled heap on the floor and his jaw was slack, perhaps in more of a state than Ally.

"You what?" Ally stuttered out after several attempts of silently opening and closing her mouth. "You like Austin."

"That's right," Trish nodded, offering her best friend a wide grin and Ally wasn't sure if it was a genuine smile or Trish baring her teeth. The Latina was quick to move to Austin's side on the bed, her small pudgy fingers lacing themselves with his larger, calloused ones.

To Ally's relief Austin seemed just as surprised as she and Dez for he removed his hand from Trish's grasp almost immediately. Like Ally, Austin was also having difficulty convincing himself to form coherent words; he was mostly spluttering short mutterings as though he couldn't quite catch his breath.

"Shhh, don't speak," Trish batted her eye lids in the direction of the blond mess of confusion before shoving one finger over his slightly chapped lips. "The time for talking is over."

Ally wasn't dumb, she recognised Trish's words from an episode of her favourite guilty pleasure show, Mackenzie Falls. She knew exactly what came after that line, most of the time anyway. Forcing her legs into motion Ally managed to grab Trish by the arm and begin dragging her out of the room.

"Um, Trish can I talk to you outside for a moment?" Though it was phrased as a question there was no way Ally was taking no for an answer. "We'll be right back."

Moments later Ally was stood leaning against the bathroom door, her arms folded over her chest and her lips puckered in annoyance. Trish, however, seemed completely at ease as she took a seat on the edge of the bathtub, shrugging her shoulders at Ally questioningly.

"Well? What did you want to talk about?"

"What did I want to talk about?" Ally spluttered in amazement at how oblivious her usually perceptive friend was being. "How about you tell me what _that_ was?" Ally was trying desperately not to raise her voice but it was proving to be increasingly difficult as she fought to calm her temper.

"No, Ally. Why don't you tell me what _that_ was?" Trish was standing now, her eyebrows raised expectantly.

Ally folded her arms over her chest defensively. Her eyes were looking anywhere but at Trish; she hated lying to her best friend. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Trish scoffed. "Oh really? Then what are we doing here Ally? Because if _you_ don't mind I'd _really_ like to get back to Austin."

"No!" Ally's arms flew from their position at her chest and blocked Trish's exit from the uncomfortably small bathroom.

"If you don't want me to leave then start talking," Trish demanded. Her hands were now placed firmly on her hips and the stare which she was giving Ally reminded her of the time she'd been caught by her dad sneaking out to go hang out with Austin, Trish and Dez.

"I can't help that I like Dez," Ally blurted. Inwardly she hated herself for ever going along with this plan. It had been a bad idea from the start, but they were in too deep now to go back on it.

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" Trish asked, obviously hurt by her friend's lack of trust. "Just last week you were saying that you could never imagine you and Dez being together."

"Because I thought you'd make fun of me?" Ally desperately wished she was a better actor, perhaps then her tone of voice would stop giving her away. Though it had been meant to sound like the truth, Ally's statement came out as more of a question, and it left Trish raising her eyebrows further; Ally's was convinced if Trish's eyebrows got any higher they would disappear into her hairline.

"Ally, we both know that's not true," Now it's was Ally's turn to raise her eyebrows. "Okay, maybe it is a little... but Dez, really?"

"Why do you seem so surprised by that? There's nothing wrong with him. He's funny, and sweet, and..." What else could she really say about Dez that wouldn't total give her away? She liked Dez, really but not in the way that she liked Austin or even in the way she had liked Dallas. Ally only saw Dez as a friend, it was difficult to imagine him as anything else. "He's different, and I like that."

"That's just it, Ally. He's different. In more ways than one. Sure, he's different to most people..." Trish seemed to trail off and her eyes became unfocused for a moment before she suddenly shook her head and returned to their discussion. "But that's not the problem."

"So what is?"

"He's different to the guys you usually go for. He's not your type."

"My type?" Ally questioned, folding her arms back over her chest for what felt like the hundredth time that evening. "I don't have a type."

"Yeah, you do," Trish seemed to be getting tired of their conversation now, or at least tired of arguing with Ally. She returned to perching on the edge of the bathtub, briefly putting her head in her hands before looking back up at Ally who remained firmly in front of the room's only exit. "And Dez? He's not it. You like guys who are into music, not guys who are into film. Sure, Dez can tap dance or whatever he calls that flailing of limbs but that's not the kind of passion for music you're into. Dez likes to do weird stuff like frost wedding cakes and text his dog, you like to do homework and go to back to school parties. Ally, you and Dez are nothing alike... I always assumed you liked Austin."

Ally's heart gave a powerful jolt in her chest, and she bit her lip debating silently with herself over what to say next. However, she could not help the hopeful half of her that just had to ask, "Austin? Why would you think that?"

Trish gave a humourless laugh. "Isn't it obvious? His passion for music is just as strong as yours. Sure he isn't in to all the school stuff you are and he can be just as weird as Dez sometimes but you two click in a way that most people envy. I really thought it was Austin you'd end up crushing on, not Dez. Never Dez..."

Ally couldn't stand to see her friend this way but at this point she seemed to have no control over her actions or words for she quickly blurted out, "Well what about you, huh? If Austin is so my 'type' and it was so obvious that I was gonna like him, then why do you like him?" Ally had to fight to stop herself from slamming a hand over her mouth in protest at the utter garbage she was spouting. She had no intention of starting a fight but apparently her lips had other plans.

Trish, on the other hand, seemed to be completely caught off guard by Ally's question for she blinked rapidly several times before she finally answered. "He's Austin Moon, how could I not like him?"

"That's it?" Ally chewed the inside of her cheek in annoyance. "You like him because he's Austin Moon? What are you? Some ditzy eighth grade girl?" She was beyond irritated at her friend's comment. "There is so much more to him than that! And if you only like him because of his name, because of his career then you don't really like him at all."

Ally moved to storm out of the bathroom which was suddenly making her feel very claustrophobic, but Trish was quick to stop her.

"I like Austin because he makes me laugh."

"What?" Ally turned to look at Trish but the Latina was carefully avoiding the taller girl's gaze.

"He makes me laugh. Haven't you noticed how funny he is? He's got this sense of humour that I don't think I've ever seen in anyone else... and he's got this ability to just not care what anyone else thinks," Trish's lips were curving upwards in a small smile but Ally couldn't help but wonder if Trish was talking about the same Austin that she knew; Austin was funny sure but he definitely cared what other people thought. Maybe not in regards to his friends because if he did then Ally was certain he'd never be caught dead talking to her or Dez but he definitely cared when it came to his career or his reputation or even his clothes.

"So why didn't you tell me you liked him?" Ally interrupted the smaller girl, unable to listen for a second longer to all the things Trish liked about Austin; even if the list was beginning to sound less and less like Austin.

"Why didn't you tell me you liked Dez?" Trish bit back almost immediately. For as long as Ally could remember Trish had always been one to stand her ground in a fight, and judging by the anger that still burned in the Latina's eyes, this was going to be a long night.

* * *

Back in Trish's bedroom things were not going much better from Dez, who after much effort had managed to coax his legs in to functioning normally again. He had stood awkwardly in the middle of the room for quite some time after the two girls had left, not knowing quite what to do with himself; half of him still in sheer shock at Trish's announcement and the other half wary of approaching Austin, who despite several minutes having passed, had still not shifted.

Slowly and with great caution Dez tiptoed towards the bed before finally taking a seat next to Austin, the mattress groaning loudly beneath him at the extra weight. Though he was side by side with the blond rockstar now Austin remained perfectly still, his eyes trained on Trish's plush carpeting and his mouth still slightly agape.

"So..." Dez began, hoping that he might be able to diffuse the tension.

On the inside Dez was just about hanging in there, his mind still reeling from what had happened only moments ago. If he were being honest then he'd admit it hurt to hear Trish say she liked to Austin. It was nothing against his friend but Dez couldn't help but feel jealous of the fact that _his_ girl had a crush on his best friend. Dez supposed girls crushing on Austin and not him was nothing new, it happened so frequently, especially after the 'Double Take' video had been released, that Dez had grown to accept it in a way. However, he never thought Trish would end up falling for Austin like so many other girls before her.

Dez sighed heavily. He hoped Ally was doing okay, she'd looked just as surprised as he had when Trish had come out with her little outburst. He also wondered what Trish saw in Austin, because secretly he'd always thought Trish might have had a thing for him instead; she was always picking on him and calling him names, wasn't that what girls did when they liked someone? And Trish never did anything like that with Austin, in fact as far as Dez could remember Trish had paid Austin very little attention outside the realm of friendship.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Austin's voice cracked when he spoke and he still wasn't looking at Dez. Up close Dez could see Austin's features perfectly; his larger than most nose, dark eyebrows that contrasted harshly with his luminous hair, the shadowy circles under his eyes - no doubt the result of working on songs with Ally late into the night. What was it about him that drew girls in? More importantly, what was it about Austin that drew Trish in?

"Tell you what?" Dez asked bewildered. "How was I supposed to know Trish liked you?"

"No, not that," Austin said, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment before springing up from the bed suddenly as though it were burning him. "Why didn't you tell me you liked Ally?" Judging by his tone Austin was unimpressed and there was nothing Dez could say in response. His mind was foggy with thoughts of Trish and he was finding it difficult to invent a lie under the scrutinising gaze of Austin Moon.

Austin was pacing back and forth across Trish's room, all the while his hands were pulling madly at his hair, causing it to stand up at odd angles as though he had been electrocuted. "We're best friends, best friends tell each other these things, right?"

"I guess," Dez managed to squeak out. He might have been taller than Austin but in that moment he was feeling impossibly small as his friend paced back and forth in front of him like a caged animal at the zoo.

"So why didn't you tell me you liked Ally?" Austin came to an abrupt stop directly in front of Dez. His usually lively eyes were now swirling with emotions that even the Love Whisperer found difficult to decipher. At a guess Dez would say his friend was confused, and hurt, and frustrated, and maybe a little bit gassy? No, not gassy. Angry, definitely angry.

"I don't know," Dez shrugged. He really didn't have an excuse for this, other than the truth and there was no way he could come out with that now; Ally would kill him for spilling her secret and then Austin would bring him back to life just to kill him all over again. "I didn't think about."

"What do you mean you didn't think about it?" Austin demanded, his hands pulling at his hair once more. Dez half debated with himself over removing Austin's hands from his signature blond locks; if he went bald because of this his reputation as teen heartthrob would be over faster than one of Trish's jobs at the mall. "You always come to me for advice about this sort of thing. Always!"

Dez shrugged in an attempt to act nonchalant and hopefully less scared, whilst his brain worked overtime to push aside any Trish related thoughts and focus on his and Ally's plan. "It was just different this time."

"How is this any different?!" Austin was getting louder and louder with each passing minute, and Dez prayed that he didn't get much louder because Trish's parents were bound to show up if he did and Dez wasn't sure how exactly this whole debacle could be explained.

"Because Ally is different!" Dez, much to his own surprise, had managed to harness all the anger he had felt regarding Trish's crush on Austin and channel it into the task at hand. The result was music to Dez's ears. No longer was he cowering like a child on Trish's bed; he was now stood at his full height which may have only been one or two inches taller than Austin but it gave him enough confidence to push on. "Ally is different to all those other girls, I thought you of all people would have noticed that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The blond had been glaring at him for quite some time now, however it was the first time during their entire conversation that Dez had seen Austin look so infuriated with rage. "Of course I know Ally is different, I've always known she was different!"

Dez smiled inwardly; at least one good thing had come of this. Austin was apparently on the verge of admitting he liked Ally.

"Have you?" Dez spat as he worked to remember the countless arguments he had observed in various movies during his lifetime, especially over the course of the last two days in which he and Ally had drowned themselves in over the top romantic comedies in a bid to improve their own acting skills for their plan. "Because you don't really show it Austin."

"What are you talking about? I tell her all the time how awesome she is, and how different she is."

"Reminding a girl that she hasn't been invited to Joey Bragg's party like all the other girls doesn't count as knowing that she's different," Dez rolled his eyes at Austin who was now blushing in embarrassment. Being classified as 'uncool' and 'weird' by his school peers, Dez knew exactly how it felt to be left out; he hadn't been invited to Joey Bragg's party either, so he had spent the evening home alone playing World of Warlocks.

Austin ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "You're talking as though it's my job to make her feel special or whatever. You're her boyfriend," He sneered. "That's your job."

"Well maybe if you did make her feel special, I wouldn't be her boyfriend and you wouldn't be acting like such a brat right now," Dez snapped back. His anger was no longer coming from his upset over Trish, his anger was now the sole result of his friend's childish behaviour.

Austin scoffed. "Why would I want to be her boyfriend? I'm not jealous of you two or anything. If you two want to be together then fine! In fact, you'd be doing me a favour!"

Dez rolled his eyes again. "Oh, yeah? And how'd you figure that one out?"

"If you two start dating then I won't have to spend so much time with Ally anymore, and then girls will stop assuming I already have a girlfriend," Austin said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Every time I go to ask a girl out Ally comes running over with those big brown eyes of hers, and her face lights up because talking about how she's got this great idea for a new song and the girl I'm talking to just walks off because they think I'd rather hang out with my girlfriend alone."

"I didn't know I was such a burden to you Austin, I'll make sure to leave you alone from now on."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys :) Firstly, I'd just like to apologise for the unusual shortness of this chapter. Originally I had planned for it to be longer and to include Austin & Ally's conversation (no fear, that conversation will take place in the next chapter) but it's pretty late here in my timezone and I've got a super important university interview tomorrow which I cannot afford to be sleeping in, so the chapter had to suffer and was cut short. However, that's not to say the chapter sucks because personally I like the direction I went in though some of you will probably hate me all over again :3 Secondly, I would like to thank each and everyone of you for reading/reviewing/following/favouriting because it is literally the best thing in the world to me to know that there are people out there who actually like reading my stories. I hope you have all had a great day and that you enjoy the chapter and don't hate me too much... :)**

**Also, some of you mentioned that Dez is quite OOC which I won't disagree with. Personally, I find writing as Dez more difficult than I do writing for the other characters which is why he's often a tad OOC, but also in regards to the last two chapters he's been OOC because he's struggling to find the light at the end of the tunnel after having his heart broken, which is a perfectly normal way to feel. Hopefully, with what I've got planned for some of the later chapters he'll be a bit more in character for your liking :')**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

* * *

Dez cursed as he watched Ally dash out of the room with a speed enviable to most of the school's track team. Running a large hand through his flaming orange hair he turned to Austin, narrowing his eyes angrily. "Nice one."

Austin, for his part, at least had the decency to look ashamed with what he had done. His eyes were downcast and though his hair was still stood up at varying angles he didn't look so maddened anymore. If he wasn't so angry with the boy then Dez might have stopped to comfort his friend; there was no time for that, he had to find Ally. He could just leave Trish to take care of Austin, wasn't that what she wanted anyway? To spend time alone with Austin.

Throwing one last glare in Austin's direction, Dez tore out of Trish's room as fast as his legs could carry him. He may have had extraordinarily long legs but that didn't necessarily make him that fast; Dez was naturally clumsy and his long legs mostly served the purpose of tripping him up more often than they actually managed to get him to his destination in one piece.

He knew that Trish's parents were likely to wonder what on Earth was going on upstairs, after all Team Austin had a real penchant for slamming doors in a fit of anger, but Dez didn't care. He had to get to Ally. He wasn't the only one with that idea either, for no sooner had he stepped out of the De La Rosa's front door and into the cool evening air, had Austin and Trish hurried up behind him.

"Where is she?" Trish asked, hoping to glance behind Dez's lanky body and Ally hiding there.

Dez shrugged, though he was feeling increasingly worried for Ally's wellbeing. Miami was a great place and Dez had always loved living there but it was no place for a girl of Ally's size and stature to be wandering around alone at night. "I don't know. How far could she have gotten?"

"There!" Austin pointed somewhere along Trish's street. For a moment Dez thought his friend had become so riddled with guilt that he was imagining things, but if he squinted Dez supposed he could see Ally hurrying away in the distance.

Before Dez had time to stop him Austin was charging down the driveway and down the street after Ally. Austin was naturally athletic whereas Dez was not, even on a good day Austin was still able to outrun Dez with ease. So, after a quick inner debate, Dez let Austin go. Hopefully Austin would apologise and everything would sort itself out.

As Dez watched his friend disappear down the street he nearly forgot about the young Latina standing behind him and it wasn't until he sat down on the De La Rosa's perfectly manicured lawn did he notice her at all. It was her knee knocking against his as she joined him in sitting cross-legged on the grass.

"Sorry," She mumbled.

He only raised his eyebrows in response, it wasn't often he heard Trish apologise and it was even rarer to hear her apologise to him, especially over something as trivial as accidentally nudging him.

The silence that surrounded them was suffocating. Austin and Ally were too far away to hear, though from what Dez could see he wasn't sure they'd remain quiet for long as Ally was waving her arms around manically in the distance. The quiet surprised Dez, usually there would be the occasional car passing down the street, Trish's neighbour's dog would be barking loudly much to everyone else's annoyance and the odd bird would still be chirping. Not in that moment however, even the light breeze had yet to make the leaves in the trees rustle.

The only sound Dez could make out, aside from his own breathing was the sound of Trish ripping up blades of grass to his left. He had never realised how annoying that sound could be.

"Can you stop that please?" Dez knew that perhaps he was being a tad cold towards the girl but the ever present ache in his chest reminded him he was well within his rights to act in such a manner.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

The shredding ceased but the irritation was still there. "And would you quit saying sorry?"

"Sor - never mind."

Dez placed his head in his hands for a moment, frustrated at how uncharacteristically Trish was behaving; she didn't know he was hurt, shouldn't she be abusing him by now? That was what she usually did when they had a spare moment alone together. Of course, most days he didn't mind her treatment of him. He liked their back and forth, it had become something of a guilty pleasure to him. Today, however, was not most days. Today his best friend had unintentionally stolen the one girl Dez had ever actually had feelings for, and equally as troublesome he had also ripped out the heart of his fake girlfriend too.

"So, you and Ally, huh?" Trish's voice broke through the never ending stream of silence, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was grateful.

"Yeah," Dez nodded. He refused to look at her, no matter how pretty she may or may not have looked with the setting sun behind her casting an orange glow around her. "Me and Ally."

"How'd that happen?" Trish asked, judging by the inflection in her voice she was quite interested in pursuing the subject.

Dez quirked an eyebrow at her, finally daring to take the first real look at her he'd had since before his and Ally's plan had blown up in their faces. "What about you, huh? Since when did you like Austin?"

"I asked first," Obviously she didn't want to talk about it, but Dez wasn't going to let it go that easily. He had to know what had driven her towards the blond rock star.

"I asked second," Dez pointed out. He could have cursed out loud as he felt the corner of his lips begin to twitch up into the familiar form of the smirk he saved specifically for his banter with Trish.

Trish sighed before laying down on the grass, her eyes now turned away from him and upward to the sky. Feeling uncomfortable with the thought of her staring at his back should he choose to turn away, Dez followed her example. If he had been in a better mood he might have smiled at their vast height difference. He was nearly a foot taller than her, so whilst their heads were side by side, his legs seemed to stretch on for miles after hers stopped.

"I just decided on it one day," Trish shrugged. Her hands were folded over her stomach and Dez had the irritating urge to take her hand in his and intertwine them like she had done nearly an hour ago with his best friend.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. What about you with Ally?"

Dez struggled to remember the story he had invented alongside Ally the day before. So much had happened in one afternoon that his brain seemed to have lost all capacity to function in terms of the past. "Well... um... you and Austin have both been busy lately. You've been getting fired and Austin has been so focussed with his music and stuff that -"

"And stuff?"

Dez really didn't have an excuse for what Austin had been up to. Whilst Trish genuinely had been jumping between jobs faster than Ally could sense someone touching her book, Austin had actually spent the majority of his time goofing off with Dez or working on his music with Ally. So Dez wasn't really sure how plausible the idea that he had developed feelings for Ally over time was. Instead of using the moment as the perfect opportunity to confess to Trish what he and Ally had done, he decided to lie.

"Okay, look. The truth is," He took a deep breath though not for dramatic effect this time; despite how much practice he'd had this evening, Dez was finding it increasingly difficult to lie. He knew Trish had her head turned to him and he was even more aware that if he turned his head to face her he would be inches away from her lips. The distraction was not helpful. "I've liked Ally since the day Austin and I first met her."

He felt Trish shift beside him but Dez daren't look at her; even if she had feelings for Austin, he still hated lying to her about his fake feelings for Ally. When Trish still hadn't said anything Dez took this as an indicator to continue.

"She was just so cute, you know? I mean sure I'd seen her around the mall before but I'd never really paid much attention to her. It wasn't until you and Ally came to Austin's house to yell at him for stealing Double Take did I finally see it," Dez knew he was no longer talking about Ally, and he wondered if he ever truly had been. "She looked so adorable in that work uniform of hers, though some might have called it unflattering. I wanted to talk to her but everything was so busy. Austin and Ally were trying to work through the whole song stealing issue, and you were getting fired, again. I didn't really get the chance. Until the next day, remember? You were working at the mug store and -"

Maybe it was fate, or maybe it was yet another stroke of bad luck - Dez was leaning closer to the latter - but he never got to finish his story about how he'd first began to fall for 'Ally'. Maybe if he had gotten the chance to continue he might have told Trish the truth, that the story was not about her best friend but was in fact about her, because in his eyes they were not just Austin and Ally's sidekicks, but they were heroes. Then maybe, just maybe, he'd have turned his head and kissed her, because what is a story without a happy ending?

But it didn't happen that way. Dez never had the chance to finish his monologue because the sound of screeching tyres cut him off. The redhead scrambled to his feet, reaching out and pulling Trish with him. He turned and looked in the direction he had last seen Austin and Ally, his heart pounding in his chest as panic coursed through him like the blood in his veins.

It wasn't hard to spot Austin; Dez could spot his best friend from a mile away. The blond was sat at the end of the street, though not on the curb as Dez might have expected but rather in the middle of the pavement as though his legs had given out and he had dropped to the floor unable to get up. From what Dez could tell as he moved closer Austin was fine, physically at least. Though there was still one question left unanswered. One question which rang through his head like the sound of his alarm waking him up for school each morning.

_Where was Ally?_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's so late but since school started up again I've been swamped by work; I suppose that's what I get for being a master procrastinator... Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone who has been reading this and everyone who has reviewed/favourited/followed, it means more to me than you could possibly imagine :) I hope you've all had a good day and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Though personally I'm not too sure about it... Just don't hate me after you've read it :3**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

It hurt. It hurt more than anything she had ever experienced in her life and it had nothing to do with the fact that she was running as fast as her legs could carry her. Ally was breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she charged down Trish's driveway; desperate to get away before the tears she was holding back began to find their way down her cheeks.

Austin was her best friend, her partner, her crush and it pained her to hear what he had just said. She'd always known that he meant far more to her than she ever had to him but never in a million years would Ally have believed he thought so little of her. That he considered her a burden that he had to deal with until his career finally took off.

There were footsteps behind her; they were moving quickly and their feet were hitting the ground hard as they moved. Ally slowed down her run into a slight jog. Of course Dez had followed her; he wouldn't leave her alone to wander the streets of Miami at sundown.

"Ally, wait."

Though she had no intention of halting she could not help but falter at the sound of his voice. The boy following her was not the lovable redhead, but his jerk of a best friend, Austin. Ally's feet fumbled and nearly set her tumbling to the ground, but the fall never came. Austin had caught her like he always did.

Unlike the rescues from before in which Austin had saved Ally from injury or embarrassment, Ally wasn't grateful for this one. Instead she ripped herself from his grasp; nearly falling into the tall hedge beside her but despite this she felt better knowing he was no longer touching her.

"What?" Ally demanded, her usually warm and welcoming eyes narrowed at the sight of Austin. His face may have been full of desperation, hurt and unspoken apologies but Ally felt no sympathy for him. Austin had made his bed, and now he'd have to lay in it.

"I just..." Austin trailed off, apparently unprepared for the moment. Whilst Ally's eyes were firmly trained on him for she refused to appear weak, Austin was unable to look at her for longer than a few seconds. Instead his eyes trailed to the floor. He was running his hands through his hair, searching desperately for the right words to say. "I'm sorry."

Ally scoffed.

"Really, I am!" Austin pleaded, his gaze was finally on her and she felt her heart shatter into a million pieces. She hated the way he was looking at her with those big brown eyes of his that made her want to melt into a puddle in the middle of the pavement. His hair was standing up at all angles from where he had been pulling at it in frustration with not only himself but also the situation at hand. "I never meant for this to happen."

"Obviously," Ally rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempts at apologising. She wasn't sure why she was still sticking around to listen to his drivel. "Look, Austin, what you said about me… it hurt. A lot. And though I'm not as headstrong as you or Trish, I'm not going to be walked all over like that. I think you should find yourself a new music partner."

It physically pained her to say those words. Her heartache was note the soul result of being indirectly rejected by the guy she'd been crushing on for months, but more so that she had just lost one of the friendships she'd cherished above all else. However, it was something that had to be done; she would not be treated that way.

Taking a deep breath Ally moved to walk away from the disheveled look boy in front of her, but was once again brought to a halt as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Ally, please don't do this," Austin begged, his brown eyes shining like diamonds, though they lacked their usual optimism. "I need you. Remember? There's no way I can do this without you."

For a moment Ally nearly fell for it. She nearly forgave him because as much as she hated to admit it she needed him more than he needed her. Without Austin she would still be the shy girl who spent unnatural amounts of time scrawling in her tatty old journal, at least now she had a voice of her own instead of having to hide behind Trish all of the time. It was only the mention of their song that knocked her back to reality, causing her to tear herself from his grip.

"You're doing it again! Is that all I am to you, your ticket to stardom, huh?" Ally choked out, finally allowing the tears to fall freely down her porcelain cheeks.

"No, that's not what I meant –"

"It's exactly what you meant! Without me you'd be a nobody. You'd still be sat alone in your bedroom playing other people's songs because you're incapable of expressing your feelings well enough to write your own music," Ally snapped.

Austin looked taken aback by Ally's sudden confidence and even more so by her blinding rage. However, it didn't take long for Austin to bounce back. "That's funny because as far as I remember it, it was you who was sat along playing songs alone with no one but your dumb book for company. Besides without me your songs would still be dull and boring, you needed me to fun you up."

"I didn't need you Austin!"

"Actually, you did. I'm the one who has been there for you every single day since we started this whole thing. Not Trish, not your _boyfriend_," Austin's face was now a similar red to that of a fire truck and Ally was fairly certain she could see the veins in his neck bulging violently. "Me. I helped you find your confidence, I fixed you."

"I wasn't broken! I never needed fixing. I was fine by myself, I always have been. I didn't need you and I certainly don't need your voice to make my songs popular. So go find yourself a new partner and while you're at it why don't you find yourself a new best friend too, because I'm done with this."

"Well, I'm more done," Austin said childishly, his anger having deflated abruptly. Maybe it was because of the seriousness of Ally's conviction that he was attempting to pull their argument in the direction it usually took.

With one last roll of her eyes Ally began walking away from the boy who had stolen her hear and ripped it to shreds. Yet, once again, Austin stopped her. This time however he chose not to grab her but to run ahead and stand in front of her, holding her back easily; it was the one time she actually cursed his incredible muscles.

"No, stop. Look, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean any of it," He was looking directly at her now, his eyes boring into hers searching for even the slightest hint of forgiveness. "I only said that stuff because I was angry."

"You had no right to be angry! I didn't do anything to you other than help you repeatedly to chase this dream of yours."

"I was angry because you were yelling at me!"

"I was only yelling at you because you were using me," Ally snapped, trying once again to shove him away from her. She couldn't stand being in such a close proximity to him; he smelt like a mixture of clean laundry and soap, it was perfectly him yet at the same time so wrong. Everything about him was wrong because the boy in front of her wasn't Austin. The Austin she knew and considered one of her closest friends would never have said the things he'd said. Her Austin was fun and loved spending time with her, whether they were hanging out in the food court with Trish and Dez or if he was simply keeping her company while she worked her shift at Sonic Boom.

But maybe, just maybe, she'd been wrong the entire time. Maybe this blond virtuoso in front of her was just that; a musician trying to climb the ladder to stardom. Perhaps that's why he'd been so desperate to be her friend, because without her he wouldn't have become an overnight internet sensation. Maybe this whole thing had just been some stupid façade to coerce her into helping him.

Even the notion of Austin using her for his own gain was something that made her stomach swirl uncomfortably as though it had been caught in a twister. It made her eyes burn with tears she didn't know she had left. It made her heart ache with a pain she had never felt before; it was what she would have imagined being stabbed repeatedly might have felt like.

Finally with every ounce of anger and strength she could muster she shoved Austin away from her sending him to the floor; Austin grunted as he hit the ground, wincing in pain. Ally couldn't care less, she was blinded by rage; everything she saw was red; bright, vibrant, angry red.

"Don't even try lying to me Austin," Ally spat, moving closer toward the injured boy on the floor. He could do nothing but lean back and stare up at her. If he tried to move Ally would knock him back down again. He wasn't getting away from this so easily. "You pretended to be my friend this entire time. You used me for my songs and thought nothing of the feelings I might have developed the longer this went on, but that's just you isn't it? You act like you're sweet and kind and caring, and just generally a good person, but you're not. You're a liar who cares for no one but himself. You're two-faced and I can't believe I fell for this whole charade. I can't believe I let you trick me into thinking that for once I had a friend other than Trish who cared about me, that for once I mattered. You made me feel so special, Austin… but it was all a lie." Her voice was barely a whisper now but she knew he'd heard her; his face was evidence of that, he almost looked sorry. "I meant what I said Austin, find yourself a new songwriter, I'm done."

She choked on her last words as a heavy sob found its way out but by now she was passed caring about how she might have looked to Austin. At least she wasn't the one lying on the floor and cowering like a kicked puppy.

For a moment Ally felt completely lost, unsure of what to do now she had finished her speech. The only thing she had left to offer to the conversation were straggled cries as she fought with herself to calm down but nothing seemed to help. She'd put Austin on a pedestal only to have herself crushed under its immense weight.

Austin opened his mouth to speak but nothing seemed to come out. _Good_ she thought, she had rendered him speechless, it was nothing more than he deserved. The only response she received from Austin was a short 'ah' which might have been her name but she held her hand up to silence him before he had the chance to finish.

"No Austin. This thing was a masterpiece before you tore it all up. I hate you."

* * *

Dez's heart raced in his chest as he scrambled to look for Ally. He knew that he only had seconds before he would be forced to look in the direction of the large SUV that had screeched to a halt mere moments ago. None of this was supposed to happen. Dez and Ally were supposed to fake date for a week at the most until Austin finally cracked and confessed his undying love for Ally. Unfortunately for Dez things never seemed to go his way and reluctantly he moved towards the hood of the car, silently praying that he would not see his fake girlfriend lying on the road beneath it in a mangled heap.

"Would you watch it, kid?" The car horn honked obnoxiously in Dez's ears and he turned his head to look at the driver. The man who was very much overweight and incredibly sweaty was waving his arm manically, signalling to Dez to move out of the way. "Geez, first that girl and now you! Don't you kids know how to cross the street these days?" With one last expletive the man turned the ignition on in the car and drove off.

Though Dez should have known from the man's nonchalance that Ally had not been struck by the car, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw for definite that she was nowhere to be seen. However, it wasn't long before the panic started to rise in his chest. If Ally hadn't been run over then where was she?

"Austin, are you alright?" Trish's voice managed to break through the increasingly consuming panic Dez's mind was reeling in. It was only then that Dez realised that his friend had not caved under the weight of his own guilty conscience but rather that he had been pushed.

"Careful," Dez mumbled to Trish he joined her in aiding the silent Austin to his feet. "Ally must have knocked him over."

Trish dropped Austin's arm in surprise, allowing Dez to carry all the blonde's weight and therefore sending Austin thudding back to the ground. "Ally, did this?"

Austin nodded, wincing in pain as Dez helped him to his feet. "Yeah, she was pretty angry."

"Can you blame her?" Dez grunted, supporting Austin as he returned to his full height. "What did you say that caused her to run off like that? I thought you were going to apologise."

"I tried!" Austin protested, removing himself from Dez's grip. "But it came out wrong and… now she's gone…" The blond's eyes glazed over once more, and his voice had fallen into that of a whisper.

Dez rolled his eyes at Austin. "Go after her then!"

"She doesn't want to talk to me, Dez!" Austin said in frustration. "Don't you think I want to fix things? Ally's my partner, I don't want to do this f I can't do it with her!"

He might have been majorly annoyed with his friend but Dez allowed himself to smirk at Austin's choice of words. Maybe there was hope yet.


End file.
